Clondalkin — Clondalkin

The historic town of Clondalkin (Chluain Dolcáin/Dolcáin's Meadow) was described in the Urban Survey of Dublin (Bradley and King 1988, 215-24) as follows; 'The origins of the settlement of Clondalkin lie in the Early Christian period with the foundation of a monastery there in the seventh century by St Mochua (Cronan) (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 31). Abbots are first mentioned in the annals during the eighth century and it is recorded that the relics of Mochua were translated here in 789. The monastery was sufficiently important to be plundered by the Vikings in 833 and shortly afterwards Clondalkin became a base for Viking activities in the area. Little is known of this period of Clondalkin's history, which, is potentially significant archaeologically because it appears to be one of the few recorded Viking rural settlement sites. A fort was established by Olaf the White, the first Norwegian king of Dublin. It is recorded only once in the annals, when it was attacked and captured in 867 by two Leinster chieftains: "Amlaib's fort at Cluain Dolcain [Clondalkin] was burned by Gaithine's son and Mael Ciarain son of Ronan, and the aforesaid commanders caused a slaughter of a hundred of the leaders of the foreigners in the vicinity of Cluain Dolcain on the same day" (MacNiocaill 1983, 323). The implication of this entry is that there was also Viking settlement in the vicinity of Clondalkin but unfortunately the exact whereabouts of the fort itself is unknown. The Vikings may simply have taken over the early monastery and fortified it as they seem to have done elsewhere, at St. Mullin's [CW026-011----] and Monasterboice [LH021-062001-] for instance. It is equally possible, of course, that the Viking fort was simply located close to the monastery and the nearby placename Raheen may be significant in this regard (Ua Broin 1942, 206). Unfortunately the reference remains rather enigmatic and it is unknown whether the Vikings returned to settle here in the tenth century or not. It is of interest, however, to note the tradition that the church lands of Clondalkin were given to the archdiocese by the MacGilla Mocholmog family, who were vassals of the later Norse kings of Dublin (White 1957, no 111). The monastery was burned in 1071 but in 1077 it was the subject of a struggle between rival factions for control of the abbacy which; resulted in the granting of the church to the Célí Dé (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 31). Like the other Célí Dé monasteries of Tallaght [DU021-037002-] and Finglas [DU014-066----] the lands became part of the see lands of the diocese of Dublin. This happened before the Anglo-Norman invasion (White 1957, no. 111; Mason 1819, 26, note e) and it presumably reflects the diocesan reorganization that occurred after the Synods of Rath Breasail [Ráth Bhreasail] (1111 AD) and Kells (1152 AD). Under the Norman archbishops Clondalkin became the centre of one of the largest manors belonging to the metropolitan see. After the foundation of St. Patrick's Cathedral [DU018-020269-] it was attached by Archbishop Henry of, London to the dean of the cathedral (Mason 1820, 26). In conjunction with the manor the archbishops established a borough. Its existence is first indicated by a mention in an extent of the manor of Clondalkin in 1326, but it is likely that it was already established in the thirteenth century. The extent mentions that the burgesses of Clondalkin held thirty-two and two-thirds burgages (McNeill 1950, 187). The borough was ruled by a corporation and bailiff, an office held in 1276 by one Robert Beg (Ball 1902-20, i v, 108 ) and by the close of the fourteenth century there were at least five streets in the borough known as Mill Street, Steeple Street, Pope Lane, New Street, and Mahow Street. This appears from an inquisition about property assigned in 1393 to the church of Clondalkin by one John Shillingford (Ball 1902-20, iv, 111). In the Description of Ireland in 1598, Clondalkin is classed as a substantial village and is graded below the rank of market town which is occupied by Lusk [DU018-010----] and Swords [DU011-035----] (Hogan 1878, 37). No mention is made of its borough status at this time and it is unclear when exactly the borough ceased to function. In 1642, during the Confederate Wars the village was burned by a troop of horse sent from Dublin (Ball 1902-20, i v, 117) . According to the Down Survey of 1657 there stood at Clondalkin then only the stump of a castle, some thatched houses and the round tower, which was described as a high watch tower (Ball 1902-20, iv, 117-18; Simington 1945, 292). It would seem that the wars of the seventeenth century caused the settlement to shrink substantially in size. The first antiquarian to visit Clondalkin and leave a record of it was Austin Cooper who described the village in 1780 as "small" but he noted that it then contained more remains of ancient buildings than it does today (Price 1942, 54-6). Some distance to the northwest of the church and round tower stood a low castle originally built as a mill and still being used as such in 1780, while at the entrance to the village from Dublin there were two: castles instead of the one which now remains. ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVENTORY 1. STREETS & PATTERN 2. MARKET PLACE 3. DOMESTIC HOUSES ARCHBISHOPS HOUSE TULLY'S CASTLE OTHER HOUSES 4. MILL 5. EARLY MONASTIC SITE ST. CRONAN'S PARISH CHURCH ROUND TOWER 6 . MISCELLANEOUS CHURCH SITE DEANSRATH CASTLE ST. BRIGID'S WELL 1. STREETS & STREET PATTERN The curving boundary of the early monastic site is preserved in Orchard Lane and its continuation southwards, and in Main Street as far as the junction with Boot Road. Monastery Road, the old road from Dublin, also evidentially runs along the line of an ancient street. As the surviving fortified house indicates, much of the medieval borough was probably situated along the axis of Monastery Road, east of the church site. The identification of the five streets documented in the fourteenth century sources with the streets of today is difficult but some guesses can be made (Ball 1902-20, i v, 111). Mill Street may be identified with the street leading to the mills; now the eastern part of the Newcastle Road. Steeple Street is presumably Tower Road, and New Street may be New Road, but the identification of Pope Lane and Mayhow Street is unclear. 2. MARKET PLACE This would appear to have been of triangular form and was located at the junction of Main Street and Monastery Road. 3. DOMESTIC HOUSES In common with similar medieval settlements, Clondalkin would have had houses on the street frontage and the number of burgesses mentioned in 1326 suggests that there would have been at least thirty two individual house plots within the borough, and presumably therefore at least thirty-two houses. Documentation on these is very slight however. The extent of 1326 also mentions that there were cottagers at Clondalkin some of whose cottages were then vacant and ruined (McNeill 1950, 186). ARCHBISHOP'S HOUSE Since the archbishop was the lord of Clondalkin this would technically have been a manor house and would seem to have been separate from whatever building the dean of St. Patrick's would have had there in his capacity as rector. The archbishop's house was described in 1326 as "a chamber and a chapel badly roofed with shingles, a stone stable badly roofed and two small houses badly roofed with thatch" and they were stated to be of no value because nobody wished to live in them (McNeill 1950, 185). The position of this house within the settlement is unknown but it is possible that the church site excavated by Rynne (1967) may have been the chapel mentioned in 1326 and one could accordingly suggest that the archbishop's house was in the vicinity of the present St. Killian's Park. TULLY'S CASTLE [DU017-041005-] The remains survive on the south side of Monastery Road of a narrow sixteenth century tower with crenellations. It is a two storied structure with a lean-to building